Webster Financial Corporation $WBS Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 374,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,186 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.22% of Webster Financial worth $20,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 327.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 3,628.6% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 56.1% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 50.3% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 81.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $68.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Monday, October 20th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $78.00 price target for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.85.

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $60.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.13. Webster Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $39.43 and a twelve month high of $63.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.32.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.02. Webster Financial had a net margin of 21.32% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The company had revenue of $756.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.45, for a total transaction of $443,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 231,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,857,302.40. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction of $123,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,172.52. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $628,380. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Webster Bank, National Association that provides a range of financial products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, HSA Bank, and Consumer Banking.